Data integration is an important part of an integration process. For example, consider the following scenario, where you have a typical integration process that is managed using the ESB profile of WSO2 EI. In this scenario, data stored in various, disparate datasources are required in order to complete the integration use case. The data services functionality that is embedded in the ESB profile allows you to manage this integration scenario by decoupling the data from the datasource layer and exposing them as data services. The main integration flow defined in the ESB will then have the capability of managing the data through the data service. Once the data service is defined, you can manipulate the data stored in the datasources by invoking the relevant operation defined in the data service. For example, you can perform the basic CRUD operations as well as other advanced operations.

The data services feature was previously provided by WSO2 as a separate product (WSO2 Data Services Server). With the introduction of WSO2 EI, you no longer require a separate data services server to manage the datasources required for your integration scenario.